1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a device which positions and supports the head of a user for decreasing blockage of a person's air passageway or airway and more particularly relates an anatomical apparatus for suspending a body of a person by a person's mandible to transport the mandible anterior to a person's head to prevent blockage of a person's airway. The anatomical apparatus encourages maintenance of a person's airway and discourages or prevents partial or complete obstruction of the airway.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is known in the art to utilize devices which attempt to prevent blockage of a person's airway. There are a number of applications for such devices including surgical applications, treatment of sleep apnea and snoring.
In surgical applications, an anesthesiologist is charged with the duties of administering drugs to alter the state of consciousness and of insuring that bodily functions are stabilized. During surgery, the anesthesiologist must assure that the patient spontaneously maintains vital functions, such as breathing, and if not then to intervene and control such vital functions. This may include intubation of the airway or air passageway (endotracheal intubation) or, in some instances, physically maintaining the patient in a position so that the patient can exchange air and breath via the actions of the functioning autonomic nervous system.
It is also known that the anesthesiologist can manually transport the mandible or jaw in a forward position which is the manual holding of the jaw must occur, accomplished by the anesthesiologist's using hands and fingers, sometimes for the duration of a surgical procedure.
Another known prior art problem which involves maintaining a person's airway is sleep apnea. Sleep apnea generally occurs when a person turns on the person's back while the person is asleep.
Typically, the force of gravity causes the jaw including the mandible to move posterially in relationship to the person's body. Posterior movement of the jaw compromises and partially or completely blocks the person's airway by mechanical obstruction. The person having a blocked airway does not breath until the carbon dioxide builds up to a point causing agitation. The person then responds to such agitation by making an exaggerated movement of the head, neck and possibly the shoulders to relieve the mechanical obstruction.
In addition to sleep apnea, snoring of a person involves some of the above described mechanisms. Further, during snoring, the uvula may add to the obstruction of the upper airway. Snoring may also be due to the presence of increased parasympathetic activity due to ocular surface disease from dry eye syndrome. It is known that increased parasympathetic activity causes congestion and constriction of a person's airway, principally the upper airway, as well as thickening of mucus secretions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,132 discloses an anti-snoring pillow which reduces the snoring by the user when sleeping by positioning the head of the user at an angle reducing the degree of blockage. The user's pillow includes a base member which is preferably inclined and has a curved front edge which is lower in height than the rear edge. The upper surface of the base member is adjacent the front edge and has an elongated bolster secured thereto, which bolster is curved along its length to conform to the curved shape of the front edge of the base member. The bolster also includes a curved peripheral cross-sectional area for comfortable support of a user's neck. The bolster and the base member, and the choice of materials therefor act in conjunction to insure ensure comfort and also the positioning of a user's head so as to decrease the blockage of the user's breathing passageway when the user is in a back or in a side sleeping position.
The above described prior art devices and methods have certain deficiencies in successively eliminating blockage of a person's airway, sleep apnea and snoring.
During a surgical procedure, if an anesthesiologist utilizes the technique of physically or manually transporting the mandible anterior to a person's body in order to open an air passageway, the anesthesiologist's fingers and hand may become fatigued. If the surgical procedure is of a long duration, the anesthesiologist may be distracted from and(?) the anesthesiologist's other duties and obligations may be compromised due to the efforts required to maintain an open air passageway.
In the sleep apnea and snoring applications, a number of devices and procedures have been used to elevate a person's head or to otherwise maintain the head, neck, back, mouth and nose in predetermined positions to discourage blockage of a person's airway.
The anti-snoring device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,132, which is essentially in the form of a pillow attempts to maintain the elevation and/or position of the head at an angle to discourage blockage of a person's airway.
None of the known prior art devices disclose, suggest or teach the use of an anatomical apparatus having a mandible engaging support surface for using the weight of a person's head to develop a reactive force which transports the mandible anterior to the person's body to reduce or eliminate partial or complete blockage of a person's airway.